Roan Mountain State Park: Peg Leg Mine Trail (Blog Hike #1065)

Trail: Peg Leg Mine Trail
Hike Location: Roan Mountain State Park
Geographic Location: south of Roan Mountain, TN (36.17622, -82.07905)
Length: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: 6/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2025
Overview: A loop hike to the old Peg Leg Iron Mine.
Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/roan-mountain
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: From the town of Roan Mountain, drive SR 143 south 2 miles to the Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center on the left.  Park in the lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: Tucked in the Doe River valley deep in the rugged mountains of east Tennessee, Roan Mountain State Park protects 2006 acres on the north side of its namesake mountain.  The park is most famous as a gateway to the Roan Highlands, a series of mountaintop balds that stand on the Tennessee/North Carolina border.  In fact, this area's famous balds are located in adjacent Pisgah National Forest, not in the state park.  The origins of the mountain's name and hence the park's name are uncertain, but one unsubstantiated story links the name to a horse with a roan coat pattern that was owned by Daniel Boone.

            Roan Mountain State Park offers many amenities including a 107-site developed campground, 30 cabins, a modern conference center, and 3 picnic pavilions.  The park also features the Miller Farmstead, where 3 generations of Millers lived and farmed for over 90 years.  Yet most of the park remains in its natural state, and the rhododendron that carpets the understory seems to turn the forest pink when it blooms in June.

            For hikers, the park offers 10 trails totaling over 12.5 miles, and difficulty ranges from easy streamside strolls to rugged mountain treks.  When I came here in mid-March 2025, some of the park's trails were still closed due to damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene the previous fall.  Normally the 2 trails I hiked at this park, the Peg Leg Mine Trail and the Moonshiners Run Trail, can be connected into a single hike by hiking the Forest Road Trail, but the Forest Road Trail was closed on my visit.  Thus, I did 2 separate hikes on 2 separate trails at this park.  The Peg Leg Mine Trail is featured in this hike, while the Moonshiners Run Trail is the subject of the next hike.

Trailhead at Visitor Center

            The Visitor Center contains some interesting exhibits about the area's mining history that are worth browsing before or after your hike.  The Peg Leg Mine was an iron mine, and the Visitor Center area features a reconstructed water flume.  Water was used to power a 500-pound hammer, which was used to crush the raw iron ore into smaller pieces, thus preparing it for rail transport to North Carolina.  Head north out of the Visitor Center area with the Doe River to your left to begin a clockwise journey around the Peg Leg Mine Trail.  This trail is marked with blue shield-shaped plastic markers.

Trail along Doe River

            The initial segment of trail had recently been re-routed on my visit due to damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene.  The forest features a nice mixture of pine, beech, and maple trees, and rhododendron crowds the understory along the river.  Soon the trail curves right to begin its climb to the old Peg Leg Mine.  The single-track dirt trail gains about 250 feet of elevation over 0.3 miles, so the climb is short but somewhat steep.  Just before reaching the top of the finger ridge, the trail levels out to embark on a sidehill course.

Spur trail to old mine

            At 0.5 miles, you reach the signed spur trail to the old mine, which exits right.  Turn right and descend the narrow, winding path down some wooden stairs to reach the old mine entrance.  Opening around 1870, the Peg Leg Mine is the oldest of several old iron mines in the area.  The mine was owned by General John T. Wilder, a Union Civil War general who came here via New York and Indiana.  Today the mine opening remains, but so do some pits miners dug as test holes and some boulders discarded by miners.  Entering the mine is a stupid proposition, but taking some time to think about the work here and the people who did it is not.

Peg Leg iron mine

            Back on the main trail, you cross a small finger ridge before beginning a steep descent that marks the hardest part of this hike.  The rockiness and steepness of the descent make for tricky footing and confirm that you are in the Tennessee mountains.  At 0.9 miles, the trail switches back to the right as you reach the bottom of the hill.  The balance of the hike is a flat riverside course as you head downstream on a narrow trail with the river to your left and the steep hillside to your right.  At 1.1 miles, you return to the Visitor Center, thus finishing the hike.

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park: Patriots Path (Blog Hike #1064)

Trail: Patriots Path
Hike Location: Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park
Geographic Location: Elizabethton, TN (36.34391, -82.25286)
Length: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: March 2025
Overview: An out-and-back past reconstructed Fort Watauga to where the Overmountain Men crossed the Watauga River.
Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/sycamore-shoals
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: In Johnson City, take I-26 to US 321 (exit 24).  Exit and go north on US 321.  Drive US 321 north 5.9 miles to the signed park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, and park in the large blacktop lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: It was September 25, 1780 when the hardscrabble Overmountain Men gathered at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in present-day eastern Tennessee.  The Overmountain Men had helped the American Patriots in earlier Revolutionary War battles, and consequently British military leaders had threatened them with loss of land and life if they failed to lay down arms.  Given the campaign the British were waging in the upstate Carolinas at that time, the threat was not an idle threat.  Rather than lay down arms, the Overmountain Men marched over the mountains to Kings Mountain, South Carolina where they joined the Patriots in the Battle of Kings Mountain.  A victory for the Patriots, that battle proved to be the turning point in the Revolutionary War.

            Today the site in eastern Tennessee where the Overmountain Men gathered to begin their over-mountain march is preserved as Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.  Established in 1975, this rather young park offers a fascinating mix of scenery and history.  The park features reconstructed Fort Watauga, the grounds of which constituted the Overmountain Men's basecamp.  The park also offers a nice Visitor Center and Museum that tells the story of the Overmountain Men and of the Cherokee and settlers that lived here.

            Hikers can explore the reconstructed fort and the natural areas on the park's 2 hiking trails, one of which was closed on my visit.  This hike uses the one trail that was open on my visit: the short and easy out-and-back Patriots Path.  The Patriots Path passes both the reconstructed fort and the scenic and historic Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River.  I came here on a damp chilly morning in early March, but I had a fantastic and inspiring hike.

Trailhead for the Patriots Path

            There are a couple of ways you could do this hike, but I chose to hike to Sycamore Shoals first and then see reconstructed Fort Watauga on my return route.  To execute such a plan, walk right/northeast of the Visitor Center and Museum, then turn left to parallel the park road and find the signed start of the Patriots Path.  A simple wooden sign and a white shield-shaped plastic trail marker mark the trailhead.  Numbered posts indicate the existence of an interpretive guide for this trail, but I did not see one at the Visitor Center.

Hiking the Patriots Path

            The Patriots Path is paved with finely crushed gravel.  At first it continues to parallel the park road, but soon the road curves right and the trail continues straight to enter the woods.  At 0.2 miles, the trail forks.  The Patriots Path continues straight, but to add a little more distance I turned right to leave the gravel and hike a short dirt trail.  This dirt trail forms a short loop through young forest, and it provides your first look at the Watauga River, which is wide and calm at this point.

Watauga River

            At 0.35 miles, you rejoin the gravel Patriots Path, now heading south through a narrow strip of woods with the river on your right.  Near 0.5 miles, you pass the historic point where the Overmountain Men crossed the river to reach their gathering point for their march over the mountains to South Carolina.  Imagine wading across this river with your rifle and provisions, anxious about the forthcoming march through the wilderness and the British troops you will fight in South Carolina.

Historic river crossing

            Just south of the historic river crossing, the trail forks to form a loop.  To save the riverside section for last, I turned left and used the trail going right as my return route, thus hiking the short loop clockwise.  The first/south arm of the loop is the worst part of this hike: it stays close to noisy US 321 and an industrial area.

Sycamore Shoals

            0.9 miles into the hike, you return to the Watauga River and reach Sycamore Shoals.  While not really a cascade, an island in the river forces the water over some rocks, and the shoals produce pleasant visual and audio scenery.  Continuing upstream from the shoals, the riverside scenery continues, and I did some nice wildlife viewing that included some Canada geese, mallards, and bufflehead in the river.  

Reconstructed Fort Watauga

            Just shy of 1 mile, you close the loop.  Retrace your steps along the gravel trail, then turn right at 1.25 miles to enter reconstructed Fort Watauga.  The reconstructed wooden fort features buildings that have been furnished to demonstrate frontier life in the 1700's, and walking around the fort is a wonderfully inspiring educational experience.  After touring the fort, head east to climb the stairs to the back door of the Visitor Center and complete the hike.